'Bike boxes' pop up at Grand Rapids intersections

The designated areas are located along North Division Avenue, at Lyon Street and Pearl Street NE. At the intersections, the bike lane opens up at the intersection, allowing bicyclists who are turning left to move ahead of traffic stopped at a red light.

Crews installed the bike boxeson July 23, weeks after adding bicycle lanes north of that area as part of "A Better Bikeway" pilot program. Bicyclists on North Division Avenue are separated from vehicle traffic by painted lines and a series of posts, which run between Michigan Street and Coldbrook Street.

The move comes about two months after Grand Rapids posted a 295-page draft of itsBicycle Action Plan, with an aim of making the city a “world-class bicycle community for all.”